


The Chocolate Caper

by ETNMystic



Series: Our Eternity Together [9]
Category: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - All Media Types, Creepypasta - Fandom, Escape the Night (Web Series)
Genre: Bloodshed, Candy, Chases, Drugs, Hypnotism, Innocence, It's Britney Bitch, Karate, Latin, Lots of sweets, Naruto running, Suburbia, Trust Issues, a good dose of mind control, as is to be expected, creepy shining twin rejects, horror suburbia, lilium - Freeform, prepare to get a cavity, sort of a willy wonka parallel, stepfordian town, tweedledee and tweedledum knockoffs, why does no one ever really wanna kill me?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-03-06 06:21:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 18,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18845398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ETNMystic/pseuds/ETNMystic
Summary: Mystic, once again, finds herself trapped in a situation with an unfamiliar face. Will she learn to trust the group and trust in herself? And will they escape the crazy candyman with good intentions?





	1. Golden Orbs

I was lead through a doorway and a waft of warmth hit me hard, along with the overwhelming scent of......chocolate? 

NOW I was starting to realize the theme for this next scenario. 

"Chocolate?" I mused.  
"Wait, are you some sort of candymaker or something?"

"Well, not to brag," he replied.  
"But I'm considered one of the greatest. Unfortunately, I don't have anyone to take over when I've come to be too old."

"Oh," I answered.  
"Why not? Why can't you go out and maybe find someone who'll take over?"

He gave this some thought.

"I've always rather liked the thrill of someone finding me or at least......what's it called?"

That familiar feeling of adrenaline sprung to my stomach.

"The thrill of the chase," I whispered just loud enough for him to hear.

"Yes, that's it."

All of a sudden, he skidded to a halt and turned around, seemingly to study me. After a few moments, he pulled back.

"You seem to be someone who desires the same, am I wrong?"

"No," I gasped.  
"I do find it kind of exciting."

"That's the spirit," he laughed.  
"Now do come along and I'll show you to your room."

* * *

It wasn't really a room. More like a luxurious tower suite, except less dangerous. Hopefully.

"Now I wish I could stay and chat, but I need to check on some things. I'll send one of my workers once supper is ready."

And without a word, he closed the door.

Once he was gone, I started to puzzle on what he said about loving that idea of someone finding me, or the thrill of the chase. To be honest, that was something I've always kind of liked. I felt like it showed that people cared about me, wanted me to be safe; and not just that, but that they had these intentions based on me as a person. But it was difficult to tell for this one. Did they actually care about me as a person? Or did they only see me as a tool to stopping this impending chaos, something they could just discard and ignore once all of this was done?

For someone who's been considered an innocent and naive girl, I have some major trust issues. I've made friends with people who hurt me and I kept trying to justify it to myself. Perhaps that was why I hid behind a shield of making complete independence a necessity. If I don't have anyone I have to rely on, I can't and won't get hurt again. The counterpoint is that I should just approach them, but that's the thing. 99% of the time, I'M the one approaching THEM, and it's made me feel as though they don't care enough or even at all about who I am. 

And these thoughts, by themselves, began to weigh me down emotionally. But there was also a small shard of hope inside of me. Perhaps if I threw them a bone, or more accurately, test them, then maybe.....just maybe. And at that moment, I knew what I had to do. 

I pulled out a teastone and whispered.

"I wish for a floating golden orb that would only be visible for those who truly care about me as a person, and if that is the case, would then lead them to near my location, the only exception being if they are truly loyal to and/or are the Cursed God."

Golden light emerged from the dust, except this light appeared in the form of a floating golden orb. It nuzzled me against the cheek and I giggled cutely. But how would I get it out to them?

All of a sudden, I spied a small, circular window with a handle nearby. I grabbed ahold and turned and, sure enough, the window slowly opened. I gently placed the golden orb in my hands.

"I need you to find the location of Penelope Dowry, Rosanna Pansino, Safiya Nygaard, Matthew Patrick, Candy Pop, Envy, and Alice, along with others. If they see you and acknowledge you, get them to follow you to about a few blocks from this factory, and only bring those who actually see you. And be sure to make yourself known if you can sense that they see you. If they don't see you at all....then just come back here."

With a hug, I sent it out the window and it flew off gently, but quickly. I spent a few more moments staring out the window before it began to get cold. Shutting the window, hope and despair mixed in my heart. There was a fifty-fifty chance they truly cared about me as a person and not just as a tool, but if they didn't, then had I done all that for nothing?

I didn't want to consider it, but the possibility was there. Either way, worrying wasn't going to help. It was out of my hands now. All I could do, at that point, was wait and see.

 


	2. Stepford Smilers

After what felt like hours, I hadn't seen my little golden orb return. I was sure that, if they found this place, the orb would disappear a few blocks from where I was. I mean, I wanted them to know where I was, but I didn't want it to be a dead giveaway. Besides, the real trouble would be this massive labyrinth called a chocolate factory, so it's only fair that they get a bit of a freebie.

The man had one of his workers, who had blue hair and was a bit short by the way, lead me down for dinner and, surprisingly when he finally found the dining room, it wasn't sweets that we were having for dinner. It was a pretty well-rounded meal. Some steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, roasted cauliflower and broccoli, a side of fruit salad with some honey drizzled in it, and a glass of ice water. Seemed a bit odd for a candyman, but after all of this running and panicking, I wasn't going to complain. My stomach was aching for some real food.

* * *

Meanwhile, the other group had followed the little golden orb to a small snowy city. It looked almost deserted.

"Ugh," Andrea R shivered.  
"This place is giving me the creeps."

"Same here," Alice shuddered.

"Atmosphere aside, we need to find where Mystic is," Penelope coughed.

All of a sudden, she spied a smiling young lady skipping merely with another girl and each holding a lollipop. Their frilly, candy-striped-dress and brains tied with red ribbon, reminded Candy Pop of the recent cutesy nightmare he'd just endured and it made him want to wretch. 

As the girls came closer, they were singing a little song which seemed a bit disturbing, but nonetheless Penelope brushed it off.

"Excuse me, young ladies," she greeted them.  
"Have you seen a blonde girl with glasses?"

The two looked at each other, turning their heads in perfect unison, their smiles still prevalent. They turned back to her and spoke in sequence.

"I don't believe," replied the first one almost robotically pleasantly.

"That we have," finished the second.

"So sorry," they replied.

"Alright, do you know of someone that might know?"

And again, they looked at each other, moving in perfect synchronization. By this time, more creepily-smiling, well-groomed, well-dressed townsfolk were emerging, and all of them had some sort of candy in their hands.

"You could try."

"The chocolate factory."

"It's just down."

"A few blocks."

"The candyman there."

"Knows everything that."

"Happens in this."

"Sweet little town."

"I'm sure that."

"He can help."

"You find who."

"You're looking for."

There was no hesitation or stammer in their speeches. 

"Do you know where it is?"

"Of course we."

"Know where it."

"Is. Come and."

"We'll lead you."

"Right to it."

Without another word, the two girls began to skip and sing in the direction of the factory. The group looked around to see the others waving in sync with one another.

"I think maybe we should leave," Sierra shuddered.  
"This feels so Stepfordian."

"Not until we find Mystic," Tana insisted.  
"I don't care how creepy this town is. Well, I mean, I do, but I don't want Mystic to keep running off like this."

"Come along with."

"Us. The candyman."

"Doesn't like to."

"Be kept waiting."

Reluctantly, the group followed.

 


	3. Victorian Christmasville Trap v2.0

It was nearing the end of the meal. We'd been talking for some time, well he mostly asked me questions about myself, when his little blue-haired workers brought out a massive table of sweets along with some gadgetry that I'd never seen before. 

"What is that?" I stammered in astonishment.

"That, my dear," he answered proudly.  
"Is my candy experimentation gadgetry. You simply pick a candy or a few to stretch, twist, combine, do whatever you wish."

"Wait, so can I.....try it?"

He gestured to it.

"Go wild."

All of a sudden, one of his workers scurried in and gestured to him. He leaned down and the worker whispered something to him.

"If you'll excuse me for a moment, it seems we have solicitors."

And he just left me to my own devices. 

* * *

As they waited for this candyman to appear, the two girls, tilted their heads from side to side, singing a creepy lullaby in sync. Sure, creepiness was right up his alley, but also their outfits. 

All of a sudden, a man in a plum jacket stepped up to the gate.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Hi!" Colleen called back.  
"We're looking for someone and these two said that you might know where she is."

"Indeed?"

"Her name's Mystic. She's kind of important to us," Alice piped up.  
"So can you send her out here?"

"I'm afraid no one will be getting or out. See, the gate's stuck. Perhaps if you could find some oil---"

"Where would we find it?" Sierra interrupted.

"Well, I suppose the auto shop would be the best place to look---."

Without another word, they left.

* * *

 

"Auto shop?" Nikita scoffed after scurrying around for the past 15 minutes looking for some seemingly non-existent auto shop.  
"Bitch, where?" 

"Maybe we should ask someone."

All of a sudden, a bunch of doors opened in sync and out stepped more Stepfordian-esque residents, smiling creepily. Candy Pop was tempted to "nope" on out of there, but he had to get that answer from Mystic. And in this creepy-ass town, he was going to make sure she gave him an actual answer, not this "it's none of your business" nonsense.

"Excuse me," Penelope asked, somehow unfazed.  
"Would you mind showing up where the auto shop is?"

In sync, they all pointed to the left. Whirling their heads, sure enough, there it was.

"Thank you," Penelope replied before running off.

Candy Pop backed away slowly as the residents waved in perfect sync before zipping to the front to catch up with the others.

As they entered, a little bell rang and, like clockwork, two employees, dress fairly identical, came out from the back and waved.

"Welcome to the."

"auto shop. How"

"on earth can"

"we help you?"

Again with this. This was really starting to cause suspicion amongst some of the others. Thank God, they were coming to their senses.

"Yes, we came from the candy factory," Penelope replied.   
"We were sent to get oil for the gate. It appears to be stuck shut---"

"Here you go," they replied in unison as they placed an old-fashioned oil can on the counter.

"Thank you. How much?"

"No charge. Will"

"there be anything

"else for you"

"this fine day?"

Penelope thought this over for a moment. 

"No, I don't believe so."

She snatched up the can and whirled around.

"Have a good day," they waved in unison as they headed back to the gates. 

* * *

Candy Pop had a feeling something was up. 

"Doesn't this place seem really....off to you?" he whispered to Alice and the others.

"Of course it does," Envy answered.  
"We've got the two Shining twin rejects, Tweedlecreep and Tweedlespook back at the auto shop, and then the rest."

"Are we sure this is where Mystic is?"

"It's where that gold orb lead us. It must be."

"Well, that's odd," Penelope remarked.

Looking up, they were shocked to see that the gate was opened and something golden was twinkling in the distance. Rosanna, being the little sugar plum fairy-esque cutie she was, tiptoed over to it and examined it, Matt, Safiya, Alice, Penelope, Envy, and Candy Pop following closely behind before the rest of the group followed suit. Ro picked it up and saw it was a little sheet of golden paper.

"It's a golden ticket, I think," she replied.

All of a sudden, there was a loud clank and a click. They whirled around to see those Shining twins waving at them.

"Hey!" Nikita snapped at them.  
"Let us out!"

"The Innocent One"

"has already arrived"

"at this factory"

"just as the"

"candyman wished she"

"would have. Now"

"he has collateral."

"A reason to"

"keep her and"

"the other innocent"

"one here forever."

With a final wave, they turned their heads 180 degrees and their bodies followed suit before skipping off as if nothing ever happened.

 


	4. Sweethearts Reunite

The group stared as the girls skipped off hand-in-hand, singing that creepy-ass lullaby. 

"Were we....tricked?" Tyler exclaimed. 

"I think we were indeed," Alison sighed before turning to the big candy factory.  
"This place looks familiar."

"On the bright side, Mystic has nowhere to run," Candy Pop giggled devilishly.  
"Now she'll HAVE to give me that answer."

Or at least he tried to, except he still had Alice's voice, so it sounded more cute than devilish. Calliope stepped up to the door and gave it a few taps. A small window slid open. 

"Oh!" the candyman's voice nearly squeaked.  
"Good, you got inside."

"Yeah, but how the hell do we get back out?" Nikita scoffed.

"Why would you want to leave? Mere moments ago, you were just trying to get in!"

He gave a giggle that made Alison's eyes grow wide.

"Wait," she gasped as she made her way to the front.  
"By any chance is your name......Lennan?"

There was a quick gasp and the window slid shut. For a few moments, no one said anything. They just awkwardly stared at a door as it got colder and darker, with a wind picking up that made them all shiver intensely. Then the door opened a crack and an eye peeked out.

"No," the voice gasped.  
"It can't be......are you?"

"Lennan," Alison stammered.  
"It's......it's been so long."

"You know this nut job---ouch!"

Penelope glared at Candy Pop, giving him a good nudge in the rib as the door opened. The two made eye contact and they could hear shaky breathing from Lennan.

"Alison? Is that truly you?" he whispered in disbelief, grasping her hands and pulling her inside, well, sort of spinning her inside, actually.   
"You don't look a day over when we last spoke. Tell me, how is my half-brother?"

"Um, hello?" Nikita insisted impatiently through chattering teeth.  
"This reunion is cute and all, but in case it hasn't occurred to you, we're turning into popsicles out here!"

He broke the contact momentarily to open the door and usher them inside. 

"Do be careful," he shivered.  
"These winter winds can be quite unforgiving."

"You don't say," Tyler mumbled pettily under his breath.

"How do you know this guy?" Liza asked Alison.

"We met through his half-brother," she sighed despondently.  
"You, Tyler, myself, and several others saw what befell him."

"You mean the guy who got his throat slit by that harpy?" Tana wondered aloud.

"Way to break it to him gently," Andrea R. scoffed as she rolled her eyes. 

Lennan's face fell.

"So........" he squeaked sadly.  
"I guess he was doomed from the start."

"So how exactly did you meet?" Liza wondered. 

"Lennan was supposed to be a full moon banquet for our clan," Alison explained to the others.  
"But his half-brother and I created a diversion, allowing him to go free. After that night, he and I began meeting regularly until my father caught us together and he ran off."

"Yes, yes, indeed," he added quite hastily.  
"One of the few truly terrible instances in my life. I mean, nearly becoming a feast for vampires. Speaking of feast, are you hungry?"

"Are we!" Gabbie drooled, her eyes twinkling. 

"I'm starving," Joey affirmed voraciously.

"Well, I recently finished a supper with a young lady who arrived here earlier, but I'd be more than willing to ask my employees to whip up something delicious."

"Young lady?" Candy Pop gasped.  
"What's her name?"

"Well, that's the thing; she never told me her name, though I think she might like the company. Or not. Either way, it doesn't matter. You're here now. Follow me."

 


	5. Kitten in the Corner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yup, we've got another chase scene!

Left to my own devices, I MAY have gone a LITTLE overboard with that experimentation station. That is to say, the dining hall practically flooded with sweets of all types, up to my knees. I grabbed a couple of mochi with red bean paste and took a bite. I swear I felt the twinkle in my eyes as I gasped like a moe anime girl. I was so taken by it that I didn't hear the door open. 

"Mystic?" Colleen's voice called out.

It was like a record had stopped with a long scratch and someone had popped my dream bubble. In the entryway was...everyone? I couldn't process this. The orb being seen by EVERYONE? No, this wasn't possible. I refused to believe it. The golden orb must've been distracted, let itself be seen by some of those who didn't care. In a panic, I snatched up a few of my favorites and swam through the sea of sweets. 

"Oh no you don't, missy!" Joey exclaimed.

Candy Pop practically plunged into the pile of pastries and sweets, torpedo-ing his way to me, but by that time I'd run up a stairwell. 

"Get back here, Mysty!" Candy Pop's growl echoed against the walls as I spiraled up the stairs and dodged out into a hallway full of doorways. 

_Oh great, it's the talent show sign-up ordeal all over again._

I heard the footsteps coming up the stairs and I darted into a random room.

"Why's she gotta go Sonic on us every time we appear?" Dooper panted.  
"Where'd she go?"

I tried crawling through the room only to find it was a hallway with more doors, and some vents.

"In here," Calliope exclaimed. 

I heard the door open and panicking, I kobe'd myself right into an open air vent. Shutting it behind me, I clamored through the metal box, thankfully it was big enough for me to crawl through without having to crouch. After a few moments, I made it to an eight-way intersection All of a sudden, I heard voices from within. 

 _"--should be in here somewhere,"_ Colleen grunted.  
 _"I mean, how far could she have gotten in just a few minutes?"_

 _"She's a slippery one,"_ Candy Pop groaned. 

Problem was, I wasn't sure which way they were coming from. I could rule out behind me, but that was about it, as well as above. Above me was a thin panel with a small grip for opening. As I froze, I heard them coming closer; in a panic, I just darted off to the right, only to hear

_"---swear she's gonna have to answer A LOT of damn questions when I find her!"_

Shit. Nikita was pissed. I backtracked and headed to the left of that one. 

_"---could be some benefit in hypnotizing her. You think we should try it?"_

It was Safiya.

 _"It certainly wouldn't hurt,"_ Penelope replied.

That was a 'nope' on my end. Backtracking again, I went to the one straight ahead of where I came in, and then I hear

_"---that maybe we'll be the ones to find her first."_

Oh God. Not Stella. 

 _"I just want her to stop running off,"_ Alice groaned. 

Backtracking YET AGAIN, I went to the upper-left only to hear Colleen's voice closer. Immediately I reversed and went to the left, praying that no one was there when I heard.

 _"---could just stop running!"_ Sierra groaned.

 _"That'd be a fucking miracle,"_ Tana scoffed.

 _I mean, I could POSSIBLY take them on,_ I thought but decided against it. Backing up YET again, I decided to try the lower left, but--

 _"--we had magical powers, we could just use them to make her stop running,"_ Andrea Brooks groaned.

 _"I can't wait for that day,"_ Andrea Russett agreed. 

Six of those eight were a nope. I tried backtracking only to hear Dooper and Calliope. Then the final one; as I crawled down it, I prayed a collective prayer to every religion I could think of (and I'm pretty sure some superheroes as well, just in case) that this would be my escape. But my heart dropped upon hearing Alison.

 _"It's been too long since I've been through these,"_ she exclaimed.   
 _"I loved playing hide-and-seek in the air ducts with him."_

I backed up into the center, and I felt defeated. 

_Fuck._

That was all I could think.  _Fuck._

They all had me cornered and they had no clue. And to make matters worse, I could see Ro, Matt, Safiya, and Penelope all coming round a corner. At the same time, the other seven were blocked off. As I prepared for the worst, my gaze caught sight of that little doorway above me.

"We've got you now, honey!" Nikita cackled.  
"Just give it up."

"Wait," Alice gasped as she scanned around the vent.  
"Did we ALL get here at the same time? Like, did we all block off her escape collectively?"

"That is WILD!" Matpat commented amazed.   
"Seriously, the odds of this happening, especially when Mystic's involved, are infinitesimal!"

"I'm shook!" Tyler exclaimed.  
"Like, mega shook."

"You're telling me," Tristen agreed.

"I never thought this would actually happen," Candy Pop laughed ecstatically.  
"I never thought we'd do it, but we did!"

"Wait," Safiya interrupted skeptically.  
"There's usually a deus ex machina involved, ESPECIALLY when it comes to hunting down Mystic."

"I don't care what kind of sex machina, whatever the fuck that is, gets involved," Nikita groaned.  
"Just as long as we've got her cornered."

"Bitch, she didn't say sex machina; she said deus. ex. machina," Manny scoffed.

"Latin for 'God of the machine,'" Safiya added.  
"Kind of a convenient ending or device, means of escape, that kind of thing."

"Sometimes it's also called a Scooby Doo ending," Matpat added.  
"In the old theatre times, it was an ending where the Gods would basically come down on a machina, which was a kind of crane, and fix everything."

"NEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRDDDDDDSSS!" Dooper called out, sounding A LOT like Homer Simpson when he said it.

"Of course THOSE two would know random shit like that," Colleen laughed.

"I Scooby Dooby Doo NOT care!" Candy Pop snapped.  
"I've got a question that Lil Miss Mystic's gonna answer."

"Hey, was anyone supposed to keep an eye on her?" Gabbie questioned.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Nikita screamed.

If you're wondering what happened, you can thank the God of the machine. Or, in this case, the little trapdoor above me. Unfortunately, I couldn't shut the door behind me, but fuck it. I was in a hurry. As I climbed up the ladder, I heard a collision below me and I all saw them rubbing their heads. I guess they'd all tried to be the first ones in the vent. Luckily I was coming up to another floor of the duct. Quickly I crawled through only to hear several footsteps behind me. 

"If I'm NOT several pounds lighter by the time all of this is over," I heard Gabbie groan.  
"I'm gonna hurt someone."

"Is there another way we can corner her?" Ro wondered.

"I think there might be a few more intersection-style vents we can block her off at," Alison panted. 

Quickly I crawled even faster.

"Wait," I heard Calliope gasp before uncorking a few bottles of something. 

I tried to run, but suddenly, I felt a cold hand on my leg. Whirling around, I saw Lele's ghost.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" she asked forcefully.

"Hell, probably," I commented.

"Look, can we just not play this game of chase anymore?" Ciel's spirit groaned.

"Excuse you. You're not the ones doing the chasing," I exclaimed as I tried to pull away.

I shook against Lele's grasp until I finally broke free, and like a horse on steroids, I fucking sprint-crawled through the tunnels, hoping I'd eventually lose them.


	6. To Surveil With Sweets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is so crazy. Alexa, play the original "Mission Impossible" theme.

After I broke free of Lele's ghostly grasp, I was bounding through those air vents like a lion running after its prey, except I was the prey and Lele, Shane, Ciel, and all the other spirits were the lions. Oh, and those still alive. I knew Candy Pop would be wanting answers. Answers I wasn't gonna give him, not yet at least. Maybe not ever. I wasn't sure yet. If you couldn't tell, I'm a girl of mystery. Yeah, I may not have a good poker face, but if you wanted to see that I didn't, you'd have to find me first. 

I heard their footsteps gaining on me. I rolled to the side and out of the air vents only to feel a pair of vines wrap around my waist. I gave a small squeak as I was pulled back, my head hitting against a plant-esque figure.

 _Oh shit._  

"Why, hello, hello, hello," Envy purred in a way that really reminded me of Count Olaf from  _A Series of Unfortunate Events._ Whether it was Jim Carrey or Neil Patrick Harris, I wasn't sure. Though I was kinda leaning towards the former.  
"What've we got here?"

I struggled against his vines, but he wasn't gonna give. 

"Not this time, not this time," he scolded.  
"We've got a lot of questions for you."

"Oh yeah? Who says I'm gonna answer them?"

He chuckled a bit maliciously.

"I think you'll find that Penelope's more persuasive than you wanna believe."

"Fat chance, vinehead!"

He whirled me towards him, his eyes glared into mine, after forcing me to bend my head back just to meet them. The dude's like seven feet and I'm only 5 foot two. What did you expect?

"Oh, I think you'll find that there's a very, very great chance that you WILL answer them. You've been running and running for so long, and we've been chasing and chasing for so long. We have questions, and you have answers. This time, you're gonna give the people what they want."

_Give the people what they want? As if._

I had to think of something insane to distract him. After a bit of thought, something occurred to me. I wasn't sure if it was a good something or a stupid something, but it was......something.

_Better to have tried and failed than to not have tried at all, I guess._

"You know, there's only two types of people in the world," I told him.  
"The ones that entertain, and the ones that observe."

I could feel his grip on me loosen.

"Wait....what?"

"Well, Envy, I'm a 'Put-on-a-show' kind of girl," I continued as I slid downward.   
"I don't like the backseat, I gotta be first. I'm like the ringleader. I call the shots."

I elbowed him back and I heard him grunt in pain as he released.

"Call the shots?" he asked through some pain.

"I'm like a firecracker, I make it hot when I put on a show. I feel the adrenaline movin' through my veins. Spotlight on me, and I'm ready to play."

I tumbled forward.

"I'm a performer, the whole world is my stage. Better be ready, hope that you feel the same."

"I'm not sure I do. Wha.....What the hell are you doing?" he stammered, standing up as I attempted to moonwalk away.

"All eyes on me in the center of the vent just like a circus," I giggled.  
"When I crack that whip--"

I hit the whip.

"Everybody's gonna trip just like a circus."

I gestured to him teasingly.

"Don't stand there watching me," I cooed.  
"Follow me. Show me what you can do."

"I would, but you have a really sharp elbow," he panted in between gasps of air.  
"And you kinda knocked the wind out of me.

"Everbody let go, we make a dancefloor just like a circus."

And I ran off.

"What......was that?" I heard him exclaim squeakily.

"IT'S MYSTIC, BITCH!" I yelled back as I Sonic'd on outta there.

* * *

As I slipped into another air vent, I had the Mission Impossible theme on loop in my head, the original one. I really did kinda feel like a spy, except I was more of a runaway and had bounty hunters after me. One of whom was super fucking tall, one who could put me into a trance with her voice and a snap of the fingers, one who wanted his body back and an answer to a forbidden question, two who were EXTREMELY intelligent, one who was extremely adorable, a fortune teller/seer, a vampire princess and one with steel-toed boots, among others. Thankfully the first one probably couldn't fit in the vent. 

I kept crawling until I saw a vent up ahead of me. Light shone in and I rushed towards it. I checked to make sure no one was inside, before looking for a way to undo the screws. But the second I touched it, it fell to the ground. I'm not complaining, though.

Stepping through, I was shocked to see hundreds upon hundreds of monitors. Ones that were on the inside and outside of houses. 100% of the people on camera had smiles that ventured above the uncanny valley. And all of them were holding candies of all sorts. Below these monitors were buttons with numbers on them along with a keyboard. Randomly I pressed one; it highlighted a woman holding a lollipop. And that's when I had a thought. 

Going over to the keyboard I typed in; HOLD THE LOLLIPOP ON YOUR TONGUE. And pressed the ENTER key.

For a hot second, I thought I'd gone insane trying that. 

_There's no way that this is---_

But then I heard the ding of a bell. I glanced back over at the highlighted screen and my eyes widened as I saw the whole thing. The woman's eyes were even more blank and doll-like than before. Robotically, the woman brought the lollipop up to her mouth, opened her mouth, and placed the lollipop on her tongue. 

I was paralyzed in amazement and horror. 

"No, that's not possible," I muttered shaking my head.  
"That HAS to be a coincidence."

I clicked another number. This highlighted screen showed a man reading a newspaper in the den. I went to the keyboard and typed CLOSE THE NEWSPAPER, ROLL IT UP, GET ON THE FLOOR ON YOUR HANDS AND KNEES, AND CHEW ON THE NEWSPAPER. I hit ENTER and, sure enough, I heard another ding. Mechanically, he closed the newspaper, rolled it up, got on the floor on his hands and knees, and chewed on the newspaper. All of a sudden, a woman came into the den and smiled casually. How was she not shocked that this man was chewing on a newspaper on the floor?

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a leather journal tied with rope. snatching it up, I grabbed it and began to untie it when I heard the voices of the others. Panicking my eyes darted around the room when they landed on a closet. I raced into it and shut it as quietly as I could. On the wall behind me, I noticed a handle of some sort. Could this be a door? I didn't care. I heard their footsteps on the white floor of the room.

"Oh God! It's so bright in here!" Candy Pop groaned.

"What the heck is this?" Alex wondered.

"I don't know," Alison gasped in a mixture of awe and anxiety.  
"Lennan never told me about THIS room."

"I think there might be a reason for that," Alice shivered.

I heard the clicking of buttons.

"Is he......chewing on a newspaper?" Tyler exclaimed.

"What the hell is with all of these buttons?" Colleen wondered.

"I dunno about you guys," JC added with a little fear in his tone.  
"But this kinda seems like some sort of mind control to me."

"Mind control? Don't be ridiculous," Glozell scoffed.  
"That's just something in Sci-Fi and horror movies."

"No," Penelope's voice wavered in muted terror.  
"I can assure you that it's VERY real. And THIS looks like a way to monitor those under someone's control."

"Wait, is this.....is this Lennan's doing?" Eva gasped.

"Well, duh!" Nikita exclaimed.  
"Does the homeboy on the screen REALLY look like someone who just chews on newspapers for fun?"

"You don't know what people are into!" she retorted. 

"No, I think this is definitely some sort of mind control," Safiya gulped.  
"And I have a feeling that unless we're careful, we might be next."

While they continued conversing, I found a small lightswitch which activated a dim lightbulb. I opened the journal and read the most recent entry under my breath; one from just a few hours ago.

_Today is finally the day. The first Innocent One will be here shortly. Afterwards, she'll lure the other one right into the trap. Her creative innocence shall help me create various other candies for the new citizens of Lennantopia. And the other one's sweet innocence will add to the flavor and create a chemical reaction which keeps them complacent and content while the mind control is at work. And I KNOW I have nothing to fear in terms of losing them to the so-called inevitable. With my elixir, they'll stay alive, young, cute, and innocent for all of eternity, just as every citizen shall. First Lennantopia, soon Planet Lennantopia, and then Galaxy Lennantopia!_

I wasn't surprised with the motive, at least if he was talking about who I thought he was talking about, but I was still terrified. I nearly dropped the journal as I suddenly heard the sound of sirens and several clicks. From out of nowhere, several of Lennan's workers busted in and surrounded the others. There was a commotion of insults, panic, and a few fights, but each one placed a sticker with a blinking light on their forehead and they fell into a sort of robotic state. They did this to everyone, except for Ro, Alison, Penelope, Alice, and Candy Pop.

"Wha.....what's going on?" Rosanna shivered.

"No need to fear, Innocent One," one of the workers cooed as they reached out and stroked her hair, causing me to shiver and feel the Cursed God's hand stroking MY head.  
"Soon you shall be revered throughout ALL of Lennantopia, then Planet Lennantopia, and then Galaxy Lennantopia."

"That's a rather convoluted sentence," Candy Pop scoffed.

"Wait, how did you three avoid it?" a worker stammered. 

"You can turn me into a robot, just please don't hurt me," Alice squeaked in fear.

"That wouldn't be the same for me," Penelope sniffed.  
"I'll have you know that with a mere snap of my fingers and the sound of my voice can make you putty in my hands."

"Which is exactly why our Master has requested that YOU stay conscious."

I tried to open the door to help them.

"What the.....hell?" I grumbled.  
"It's locked?"

And that's when I realized; it wasn't the Cursed God's hand that was stroking my hair. It was Lennan's. And I wasn't sure which was worse.

From out of nowhere came another cloth. I tried to avoid it, but he smothered it over my nose and mouth.

"Shh," he tried to sooth as he continued to caress my head.  
"Don't struggle, Innocent One. Soon you shall be revered throughout ALL of Lennantopia, then Planet Lennantopia, and then Galaxy Lennantopia."

The sweet smell hit me like a ton of bricks. In my blurred vision, I saw a worker pull out another cloth and place it over Ro's nose and mouth. I felt myself becoming weaker and more tired until I succumbed to the silence and darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need more creative ways to say that I passed out or fell unconscious. It seems to happen to me a lot in these stories.


	7. An Offer We Can't Refuse?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (CW: mentions of child abuse and neglect)

My eyes shot open. I was facing towards a white canopy as I hear repetitive beeping. I tried to get out, but I found my wrists and ankles shackled to the bed.

"Mystic?" a voice asked frightened.

I turned to my right to see Ro also in the same fate. 

"Ro?" I stammered.  
"So what I saw before I passed out....it wasn't a dream?"

"Far from it," a voice sighed.

I couldn't see him, but I could hear Envy.

"What happened to you? Where are the others?"

"They're all here," Penelope informed me.  
"They're just in some sort of stasis or something. It's the sticker on their foreheads."

"The sticker?"

"It turns them into mindless robots for as long as they have it on. They've made sure to tie us up so that we can't take those stickers off of them."

"Where's Alice?"

"On your left," a voice groaned in tiredness.

I turned to the left to see Alice just waking up, in the same position as Ro and I.

"What the? But.....the journal said there were only two," I stammered.

"Journal?" 

In spite of his position, whatever that was, Candy Pop seemed intrigued, if not a little trembly in his tone.

"What journal?"

"When I first got into this room, I saw a leather-bound journal. The most recent entry talked about the two Innocent Ones helping him to take over the world."

"If it means that I have to take care of these for eternity, that would be a no on my part."

And that's when I heard them.

"Mama."

"Mama."

"Mama."

"Mama."

Various robotic baby voices chorused out as gears whirred.

"Stop it!" Candy Pop practically screamed.  
"I'm not your mom! Don't fucking touch me, you little gremlins!"

"Mama."

"Mama."

"Mama."

"Mama."

"What the hell's going on?" I wondered aloud.

"They've got him surrounded by a bunch of robotic baby and toddler dolls and they've been programmed to think he's their mother," Envy answered, gulping.  
"I'm terrified just by looking at them."

A shiver ran through my spine. I didn't mind dolls, but this was creepy even by my standards.

"This......this isn't like him," a voice above me whispered in disbelief.  
"He's not like this."

"How do you know that, Ali?" Candy Pop shivered. 

"We dated for quite some time, and I......I don't know why----"

All of a sudden, the door opened and my stomach jumped in fright as footsteps rhythmically clicked against the floor.

"Enjoying your family, Candy Pop?" Lennan's voice oozed.  
"I'm sure they're loving you."

I heard Candy Pop growl as the footsteps clicked some more.

"It seems this lovely lady is unfazed by the blindfold."

"Do NOT stroke me," Penelope snapped.

Then the footsteps approached even closer. Turning to my left, he stood over Alice and reaching out, he tried to stroke her head.

"Don't touch her!" Alison and I yelled out in defensive unison. 

But our words fell on deaf ears.

"I thought there really would only be two Innocent Ones," he purred as he stroked her hair. I closed my eyes at this point.  
"But you'll certainly help to clean up the language of my kingdom, my pretty."

Goosebumps appeared on my arms. Had this dude never heard of consent before? I could hear a shaky whimper emerge from Alice as he finished with her before the footsteps came over to me. I kept my eyes closed as he stroked my hair. A tingle rushed through me as I winced.

"Why do you look so pained, little one?" he purred as he leaned in close.  
"You'll be a princess throughout all of the Galaxy. And I'll give you protection from the Cursed God."

................

This grabbed my attention.

"Say what?"

"Mystic, don't trust him!" Candy Pop snapped frustrated.

"Yes, eternal protection from the entity that's been stalking you and giving you grief. After all, I need your perpetual creativity for candy ideas. You remember the euphoria from the experimentation station?"

"Uh-huh," I responded a bit drowsy.

"Imagine that times ten for all eternity."

My eyes widened and I blinked rapidly in disbelief. A gasp got caught in my throat as he moved on.

"But you," he purred to my right.  
"Are the most important."

I heard Ro whimper and I knew what he was doing. I was blinded by rage.

"Don't you DARE touch her," I snapped furiously.

I opened my eyes in time to see his hand jerk back. He was stunned for a moment before continuing.

"Anyway, she's the most important," he continued.  
"Her perpetual sweetness will keep this town happy and complacent."

"Lennan, you have to stop this," Alison cautioned him fearfully.  
"This isn't like you."

I could hear his footsteps move behind me.

"But this was what I've always hoped for," he replied with a little disappointment.  
"A world where everyone is always happy and loving to one another. Something my parents never gave him."

His tone became angrier as he continued.

"They treated Sampson worse than dirt before kicking him out of the house, leaving him out on the streets! But they treated me like a golden child. How could they be so cruel to him? It wasn't fair!"

He began to pace around with a shaky giggle.

"But with the frequency and elixirs magnified," he continued.  
"No one will EVER feel left out. No one will EVER feel unloved or worthless! It'll be as how Sampson should've been treated by mother and father."

"At the sacrifice of free will?" I exclaimed.  
"You're out of your mind."

"Sacrifices, my dear, must be made for happiness and love."

"Yes, sacrifices of time and resources!" I spat back.  
"That's how you show love to someone. What you're doing isn't love. It's possession. It's obsession. It's enslavement!"

"I SACRIFICED MORE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE," he yelled.  
"TO TURN THIS INTO A REALITY. I worked for YEARS to obtain the resources for this plan. A sacrifice of time and resources. I sacrificed my parents to make sure the effects were potent. And I have sacrificed a portion of my power to lure you and the other Innocent One here. And I'm doing this to benefit the entire world, not simply myself! Do you know how many children in the world go through what Sampson had to go through every single day? Being abused and neglected by the very people who are supposed to care for them?  
"There's a girl in the world whose mother refuses to feed her because she's drowning the sorrows of her failed marriage in alcohol. A boy's father committed suicide because his drug problem lead him to beat his wife to death. Who's going to look after that little boy? No one, right now. He's out in the streets, begging for food and shelter. In my galactic utopia, the girl's mother will be so happy to take care of her daughter that she won't NEED alcohol. That little boy will get adopted into a family who will treat him like a little prince. Yes, I've sacrificed so much, and by your definition, that IS love! But it'll all work out in the end, with me as the king."

He gave a crazed cackle.

"But, of course, every king needs to have a queen."

_Every STRAIGHT king, you mean._

"And the lovely vampire princess is the perfect candidate."

I gulped, knowing full well who he's talking about. 

"Lennan, stop this!" Alison snapped.  
"I'll never marry you if you continue this mind control."

"You have no choice," he giggled.  
"You're deep within this factory. How on earth do you believe you're going to escape? And besides, once our gorgeous Ultimate Hypnotist is properly pacified and compliant, you'll be falling head over heels for me. And these three innocent ones our children."

"You're insane if you think Penelope's going to comply!" Envy laughed.

"Don't be so quick to judge," he snarled.  
"For if she'll help us, I will revive the one she loved the most."

I heard a small gasp coming from Penelope.

"I have the resources. I have the time. I have the tools. And if I have your cooperation, then this resurrection is both a promise and permanent. As a matter of fact, I can revive all those that the Cursed God has taken from you. And not only that, I could potentially put the right people back into their respective bodies."

I was mind-blown. He......he was expecting us to be okay with this in exchange for the lives of those we lost? I'll be frank, it was tempting. Not only would Lele, Shane, Timothy, Jesse, Matt Haag, Ciel, Celeste, Arya, Kyrie, Cyrille, and Horace (who wasn't too terrible of a guy, if I'm being honest here. Granted, he DID try to kill me) come back to life, he said he'd protect me from the Cursed God.

And as for Candy Pop, he'd get out of Alice's body. 

"And if it's any bonus, I'd be happy to make Mystic a little more.......sweet."

THAT was where my heart dropped.

"What on earth would THAT accomplish?" Envy growled.

"Think about it. For how long have you been chasing her? For how long have you tried to get answers from her that she'd refuse to give you? If you accept my offer, you'll also get a Mystic that's a little more.......let's say, sweet and delicate. Less violent. More demure. More compliant. More likely to stay when you tell her to. More likely to give you the answers you're looking for from her. Less likely to even CONSIDER trying to kill herself. More happy with who she is and more loving."

I couldn't see the others' faces, but just from looking at Ro and Alice, I could tell they were tempted to agree, and that terrified me.

"I'll give you time to think it over," he announced.  
"I still have some work to do. But take your time. After all, it's not as though you'll be going anywhere."

I heard the door shut and the room fell still.

 


	8. Existing vs Living

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (CW: Implied creeperyness, panic attack)

A stunned silence filled the room as the tension rose. I couldn't believe what I had just heard. And in my mind, I had decided; other villains that we had encountered weren't even remotely as scary as this motherfucker. Hear me out. It seems to me that most of the villains we came across KNEW that what they were doing was evil. Horace with his whole Wonderland delusion (though, that's debatable), Gautier with the explosive threat, Circe with the plan to split my soul in half, the Coven's plan to turn me into a vessel, Calvin and his thing with Envy, the hotel lady and her Stepfordian guests, the Cursed God and.......everything he's done. But Lennan's an outlier, because he seems to believe that he's actually doing something for the good of humanity. He's trying to make the whole GALAXY fucking fair and loving because of what his half-brother suffered through. It's one thing for a villain to do something and KNOW they're doing it for evil intentions. But this guy seems to think that the good of what he's doing will overshadow the bad. 

But here's another kicker; his promises. If he's actually willing to stick with them, I'd get protection from the Cursed God. Horace, Penelope's first love, would be brought back to life for good along with the others we lost. Candy Pop would get his real body back. That's all fine and good. But then there's the talk of changing me, making me "sweeter." And he hit the nails on the head of what people would want; less likely to run off, less likely to even consider killing myself, more likely to answer a question that I wouldn't normally want to answer, more compliant, more confident in who I was. I mean, sure I'd LOVE to be more confident in myself, but I don't want to be brainwashed into it. But that checks the boxes for what Alice, Ro, Penelope, AND Candy Pop would want, the vast majority of lucid beings in this room who could decide to let me be modified.

"Fat chance!" I scoffed.  
"There's no way we're gonna agree to whatever he says, right guys?"

I guess I was a little too cocky. There was only silence and my stomach began to tie itself in knots.

"Guys?" I laughed nervously.  
"C-c'mon. You're not actually considering this.....right?"

A murmur of guilt rippled across the room.

"Well," Alice confessed sheepishly.  
"You HAVE been running off a lot."

"And it hurts us when you try to kill yourself," Ro added.

"And I really need the answer to that question," Candy Pop admitted.

"And you'd be much more willing to be hypnotized," Penelope blurted out.

I genuinely COULD NOT BELIEVE what I was hearing. They were actually justifying sacrificing the free will of their friend? No, I couldn't let this happen!

"Pull yourselves together!" I exclaimed frightened.  
"He's playing the devil. Plus if you agree to work with him, not only is the rest of the world going to lose their free will, I'll lose mine as well. Do you REALLY want that?"

There was another tense silence.

"Well, I wish I didn't believe it," Envy replied.  
"But it might be for the better if you did."

I was stunned. Envy was actually willing to let me lose my free will? Tears came to my eyes, tears of sadness, of betrayal, of fury. 

"That's not true," I retorted furiously.  
"Even if it was, would you really want the whole world to lose its free will?"

"But then we'd get the others back," Alice reminded me.

"And I'd get my body back," Candy Pop added impatiently.  
"Get the fuck away from me, you mechanical goblins!"

"But is it worth sacrificing the free will of the entire fucking world?"

Again more silence. I felt panic coursing through me. So when it came to me running off, it was unacceptable because the world is going to collapse into chaos, but throw in a utopia and me becoming sweeter and more innocent and suddenly it's like "fuck the rest of the world"? And that was exactly what I blurted out next.

"But we'd at least be living in a world with some sort of peace," Penelope confessed shamefully.  
"If you married the Cursed God and brought down that barrier, the biggest and most chaotic armageddon would begin. Perhaps living in Lennantopia might not be a terrible idea?"

"Living? You really think we'd be living?" I scoffed in disbelief.  
"Tell me, is it really living if it's only peace? Sometimes this world NEEDS chaos. Otherwise you never grow in character. The time when your character is put to the test the most is when chaos reigns supreme and you need to act quickly, basically all of what we've been going through. Don't act like you haven't at least learned SOMETHING new about yourself throughout this whole shitstorm. I know I have.   
"Help get Galaxy Lennantopia up-and-running and all of that will go away; we'll all become bland and static. We'll exist, to be sure, but we will never be living. If you choose to simply exist, that's an insult, hell it's a betrayal, to life itself. You know what life is meant for? Life is meant to be lived, not to simply exist within. And right now you are choosing to betray life. You are staring life in the face, flipping the bird, and saying 'Fuck you, life. I don't need to live. I'll be better off existing.' And you know what? I believe that's the most cowardly fucking thing you could ever do."

I closed my eyes, letting myself calm down, praying that the message would sink in or something, but I heard nothing. Was this it? Was I doomed to become a sweet, pretty Little Mary Sue in Lennantopia? Bows and cute voice and all? My heart began to sink.

"She's right," Alice piped up.

I whirled to my left.

"Peace can't exist without chaos, and vice-versa. Lennantopia only has peace and no chaos, so in actuality, there's no peace. Because there's no chaos to balance it out. I'm sure we can find another way to get what we want and need without having to sacrifice our own inner growth, or one of our friends."

"But what about those poor children being abused and neglected?" Ro pointed out.  
"His idea could give them loving families, ones that don't argue and fight."

"Would they really have a cooperative family if there weren't any disagreements?" Alison pointed out.  
"Mystic's right. Lennan's vision may be well-intentioned, but it's too secure."

I heard a huff coming from in front of me.

"I suppose that the absence of something, such as chaos, cancels out the desired opposite," Penelope huffed.  
"Meaning his planned utopia would have nothing."

All of a sudden, the door opened and I couldn't see who or what walked in but I heard from Candy Pop.

"Hey. Hey! What are you doing? Get that thing away from me! Ow! You son of a----"

The door shut and my heart thumped. I heard Candy Pop groaning. 

"What the----what's going on?" 

"Mama."

"Mama."

"Mama."

"Mama."

"NOOOOOOO, I'm feeling!" he shrieked. 

"What the---what's going on?"

"I think they injected him with some sort of maternal instinct chemical," Envy shivered as gurgling sound began to emerge from Candy Pop. 

I heard Alison struggling behind me, but I heard a zap, a small yelp from her, and then silence.

"What happened?"

"It's this.....lollipop crown he put on me," she growled.  
"Every time I try to get away, it zaps me."

I was confused.

"Is that all he put on you?"

"Well, aside from Katsumi and Roanoke holding me back, yes."

A bright idea popped into my head.

"Any chance your mouth can reach their forehead?"

"Pardon?"

"Just trust me," I assured her.  
"Try reaching for the sticker on Katsumi's forehead."

I heard a bit of struggling and some teeth scraping against skin, before a small rip was heard. 

"What the?" Katsumi groaned dazed, but quickly regained composure.  
"Where are we?"

"Not entirely sure," Alison panted.  
"Can you get the sticker off of Roanoke's head?"

"That blinking patch?"

"Yes, hurry!"

Another rip was heard.

"What happened to us?" Roanoke asked.

"Lennan placed you in some sort of stasis; now we need to help the others out of theirs."

Katsumi and Roanoke ran around pulling stickers off of people's foreheads. The sounds of confusion and waking up were music to my ears. 

"What the hell happened to us?" Nikita exclaimed. 

"I think we became robots," Tyler groaned. 

"Ro!" Matt gasped as he ran over to the bed.  
"You're okay! And....in a princess dress?"

I whirled over and saw that indeed her clothes had been replaced with a princess gown. To my left, I saw that Alice had on a princess gown. I was afraid to look at my own body, but I did, and I regretted it immediately. To my horror, I saw that I was in one as well. What was worse was that I could feel the princess dress material on my skin, not on my clothing. This creep either dressed us while we were unconscious or had one of his workers dress us while we were unconscious. And that was pushing me onto the verge of a panic attack.

My palms became sweaty, my breathing became more shallow, my muscles were tensing up, and tears were falling down my face. There weren't many other times where my panic attacks had gotten severe, but this was heading in that direction, and I could feel it.

"Mystic!" Safiya exclaimed as she and few others ran over to me.  
"What's going on?"

"She's having a panic attack," Gabbie informed her.  
"Mystic, do you have any medication?"

I couldn't speak; it was as if there was a lump in my throat.

"Someone find her stuff, quick," Gabbie called out, taking charge.   
"There might be something that will help."

Meanwhile, Andrea R and Andrea B were working on my restraints when finally JC brought over my clothes and my purple purse.

"Here," he exclaimed handing them to Safiya. 

The second that I was free from the restraints, I snatched up my stuff and ran out of the room.

"Mystic!" Colleen called out.

But I didn't give a fuck. I just kept running. And running. And running. Until I finally found another door with a bunch of doors. I threw myself inside, shutting and barricading the door. There were more doors. I ran in one, which had more, and then more, and then more. Until I was shut inside of a little bunker that had a ladder leading up to the last door I had taken.


	9. Intra-Mind Travel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (CW: Medication)

I don't know how long it was that I just laid in that little bunker, but the second I got inside, I tore that dress off and leaped into my clothes. I rummaged through my bag to find my anti-anxiety pills. I opened it up, took one out, and swallowed it dry before reaching in for my hemp oil. I dropped a few drops of the stuff into my mouth before collapsing onto the bed within the bunker.

My entire body seemed catatonic, unresponsive. I wanted to get out as soon as possible, but at the same time, I felt as though I couldn't move. Anxiety was holding me down. I couldn't believe that this guy had actually done that. Best case scenario was that he had had a few of his workers do it. Worst case.......I didn't even want to consider it. 

Still, even if it was a few of the workers, some of whom looked to be maybe my age, if not a few years older, I felt terrified that it had even happened to THREE of us. I thought I kept hearing footsteps above me, and then I KNEW I was hearing footsteps above me. I HAD to know what they were up to.

I rustled through my bag, and thank God! Lennan clearly didn't know what teastones were because he'd placed them in my bag. I took one out.

"I wish I could switch between the eyes, ears, and minds of the others and back to myself at will without them knowing."

The stone glowed gold and turned to dust. Swiping it into my bag, I decided to pick one. 

 _What's going on with Candy Pop?_ I wondered.

All of a sudden, I saw through his eyes, heard through his ears, heard his thoughts.

_Protect, must....protect._

_"Candy Pop....."_

A faint voice called out. 

_"C'mon, dude."_

_No....must protect._

I heard him give a hiss. 

"Stay away from my children."

 _Who's that talking with him anyway?_ I wondered.

My perspective switched. 

_What's going on? This isn't like him at all!_

"Here," Gabbie exclaimed. 

In this person's vision, I saw Gabbie hand them their clothes.

"Thank you!" the voice was almost relieved.  
"By the way, what's up with Envy?"

"Dunno, why?"

"He just keeps saying my name over and over again."

_Let's see what that plant man is up to._

I switched to his view, and immediately....

_I can't keep it hidden anymore. I swore I'd protect her. I'd sworn to the Queen I'd protect her._

Okay, this was news to me. 

_I'd sworn to Kirigiri that I'd protect her. And not only that, I'd sworn to myself that I'd protect her. And here she ends up undressed by a man whilst unconscious, not once, but twice. I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch! I swear. No one violates Alice and gets away with it!_

Was that who he was saying the name of? Alice? Did he.......wait.......

I wracked his thoughts and found bits on Alice. Memories of them together. Very Fond Days. But......did this guy.......? No.......

I thought back to that little slip-up he made at the hotel. Finding it in his subconscious, I saw that that moment had a filter on it. 

_She reminded me of Alice for that brief second._

And that's when the pieces came together. Envy.......the supposedly-heartless plant man.........had a crush on Alice? Unbelievable. And yet, not really surprising.

Hmm. What else could I find out with this new wish I'd made? 

_Mr. Cursed God hasn't tried to come after me in a while. Let's see what he's up to._

* * *

It took me some time, but I found myself inside of the mind of the Cursed God. How ironic, if you think about all that he's done in the past few months.

_"So you're saying we're waiting to capture them?"_

It was the Clown Leader.

_"What logic is there in that?"_

**_What logic? Doesn't she know what's coming up?_ **

"I believe I made that very clear. Do you know what the Blood Moon is?"

_"Ooh! I do!"_

Lucy. That crazed cheerleader.

_"It's when magic is at its most powerful, meaning we could make Mystic fall in love with the Cursed God and make it permanent."_

**_Not surprised. The crazy ones usually are the smartest._ **

"Exactly. And that's in two to three weeks from now. That's why we're waiting to make a big attack. Of course, we'll make little surprises here and there, perhaps capture a few of them and convert them, but otherwise, Mystic is to remained untouched until the blood moon."

 _"And Morticia,"_ Nicholas coughed. 

"Yes, and Morticia."

 _"Question: What about the traitor?"_ Belle piped up.

"What about the traitor?"

_"When are they gonna get to find that out?"_

**_That depends on how smart they are as a whole._ **

"I suppose we'll simply have to see."

_"Second question: do you actually love this girl?"_

That was from Demon Arm Wilmer.

"Of course not."

_**With all of my heart.** _

"She's simply an end to my means."

_**She'll make me feel whole again.** _

_"You are the worst liar in the world,"_ Lucy cackled. 

 _"And what about the eighth token?"_ Debra coughed.

"We all know who it is," he laughed.

Who. Okay, so that tells us that the token is a person, right? Or is he just lying to them?

_Okay, enough of this; blood moon equals big attack, eighth token is possibly a person, keep those stored for future reference. Let's check up on the others. Hmm. What's Dooper thinking?_

* * *

Dooper was running throughout the maze of doors along with the others, presumably trying to find me. In the back of his hearing, I could pick out a frothing and crazed Candy Pop screaming about his babies and the sound of the mechanical demons following him. But inside of Dooper's head, I head the theme song for  _Neon Genesis Evangelion_ on loop as his thoughts slid over the lyrics.

_I wonder when people will realize that I'm not just for comic relief. That I, too, have a complex character arc I'd like to explore. There's so much I have yet to see and yet, I just keep following a bunch of people who I don't even know if they know if I exist unless I'm doing something funny. What if I just ran off like Mystic's been doing? I could be Sonic! Not the new one, but the cool animated one!_

Damn. Not really what I'd expect. 

_How about Penelope?_

But the second I did.

_Mystic, dear, please don't read my thoughts. Unless you're going to tell me where you are, I would like you to stay out of my mind, if you'd please._

I pulled back, stunned. I thought I'd specifically wished for them to NOT know if I was reading their mind. Was Penelope some sort of witch?  _  
_

I waited around a while, occasionally popping into people's mind to see what was going through them. All of a sudden, I heard the hatch open above me. In a panic, I hid under the bed. Holding my breath, I saw various pairs of feet on the ground. 

"Are you sure she's here?" Tristen asked worried.

"I'm absolutely certain of it. And I think I know how to get her out."

Holding my breath even more, I felt someone climb onto the bed above me. Slowly a pocket watch came into view and began to swing in my vision. I began to build up on the defensive and slid out from underneath. There they were; Tristen, Dooper, Alice, Rosanna, Safiya, Nikita, Andrea R, Gabbie, Candy Pop, and Penelope. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW I drew a picture of what Penelope could possibly look like. If anyone has a Discord, I could send it to you if you wanna see it.


	10. Hurt and Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (CW: Crying/spitting blood)

I took a moment to take it in, before trying to book it up the ladder, but Penelope grabbed me by the back of my regular dress.

"You're not going anywhere," she exclaimed as she pulled me down.  
"Besides we have one more person coming down here."

I heard someone sliding down and Penelope pulled me out of the way in time for Alison to land on two feet. Then another; Calliope.

"Well, I guess two," Penelope corrected.

"We got everyone?" I scoffed sarcastically as Safiya and Andrea grabbed my hands.

"What were you doing trying to read my thoughts?" Penelope demanded to know.

That sent a wave of panic amongst the others.

"You did WHAT?" Nikita practically shrieked.

"I just read a few people's minds!" I confessed.  
"I got bored, okay? I heard footsteps and I wanted to know what was going on."

"You better not have read mine!"

"I read Candy Pop's, Alice's, Envy's, the Cursed God's, Dooper's, and a few others. Oh, and I TRIED to read Penelope's, but she SOMEHOW knew it was me."

That caused a silence amongst them.

"You read the mind of the Cursed God?" Gabbie gasped.

I nodded.

"I could see and hear what he could see and hear."

"Did you find anything out?" Calliope urged me.

"A few things."

There was a tense silence for a few moments. 

"Well?" Alice asked impatiently.  
"Are you gonna tell us?"

I shook my head. 

"Perhaps I could get her to, how is it you say?, 'spill the tea,'" Penelope smirked as she pulled out her watch again.

I struggled against Andrea and Safiya, but they had me pinned down good. As Penelope waved the watch in my face, I srunched my eyes shut. 

"Really?" she chuckled.  
"You think that will work? How naive of you."

_This bitch is starting to sound like the Cursed God._

All of a sudden, I heard the snap of fingers.

"Sleep, Mystic."

I tried to resist it. I mean, I really did. But I succumbed. 

* * *

I felt as though I was floating. I couldn't really see anything, but I could hear Penelope's voice clear as day.

_"Whatever question we ask, you will give us the answer to."_

_No, no, no, no, no!_

I tensed up. I had to resist it. If I just gave everything away, what use would I have to them, especially Candy Pop? He could get his body back without me if I gave him that answer.

_"What did you find out when you read the Cursed God's mind?"_

The answer was right in my throat. I began to cough as my mind attempted to keep it locked. I felt a sharp hacking sound and tasted metal. My own blood. 

"That he actually has a mind," I spat out.

Under hypnosis, I attempted to use my perspective-shifting powers, but unfortunately, it was only half effective. I attempted to switch to Alice, but if I used both sight and sound, they'd only half-work. I made the decision to use just the hearing.

 _"Oh shit,"_ Andrea exclaimed fearfully.  
_"She's spitting up blood."_

 _"This bitch needs an exorcist,"_ Nikita gasped.

 _"We need to relax her,"_ Ro suggested.

 _"Um, now she's crying blood?!?"_ Saf freaked. 

 _"She's really trying to resist this,"_ Penelope sighed casually.

 _How can you be so casual about someone CRYING BLOOD?_ Alice thought.

I could also make out the sound of shrieking. 

 _"Um, I think the one we really should hypnotize,"_ I heard Alice tremble.  
_"Is Candy Pop."_

 _"Oh, of course,"_ Penelope exclaimed and with the snap of her fingers.  
_"Sleep, Candy Pop."_

I heard a thud on the floor, and the shrieking stopped. Unfortunately that snap didn't wake me up as I had hoped, and now Penelope had turned back to me. I switched back to myself in hopes that the true answers wouldn't escape. 

_"Why are you so resistant to my commands?"_

This one I had a comeback for.

"Because I'm NOT A DOG, you bitch!" I snapped.

Even under hypnosis, my sass could still shine through. I struggled even more against my restraints, even trying to use my hands to scratch at them. I couldn't see where they were though, and I began to shriek. 

_"When I count to five, you'll be awake. 1...2...3...4...5!"_

_Snap!_

* * *

I shot up, gasping for breath. I felt something under my eyes and under my mouth. Looking around, I saw wide-eyes. Safiya and Andrea had let go of me, thankfully.

"Well," Penelope sighed.  
"That was much less that I hoped for, but we're all safe now."

"What about Candy Pop?" Alice wondered.

"We'll simply keep him under hypnosis until the drugs naturally take their course. If that doesn't work, then we'll have to hypnotize him out of it. As for Mystic, we'll need to get her to be more relaxed before I can try it on her again."

That was what did it for me. I reached out and slashed at Penelope's face. She gave a shriek of pain and clasped her cheek. 

"Penelope!" Alice exclaimed. 

The others ran over to her.

"It's alright," she panted.  
"It was just on the cheek."

As the rest of them were attending to her, I felt a slap across my face. I turned to see Nikita, infuriated. Lucky for me, my fury was to match.

"What the hell did you do that for?" she snarled.

"Because I'm sick and tired of every last one of you!" I growled in reply before whirling on Penelope.  
"But especially of you! I'm tired of you treating me like a dog or a science experiment. I don't care what kind of answers you want. You're not getting them."

I whirled on the others.

"And as for the rest of you, you're just as terrible. You let her do this to me. You didn't even think about what I wanted; you didn't care that these were MY secrets. And you know what? I'm starting to think that being with the Cursed God wouldn't be so terrible. Because he doesn't treat me like a tool! He doesn't treat me like a science experiment! He treats me like a person. You all run around, convinced you're doing this for the good of the world, and yet you never think about what I want. And yet you're supposed to be the 'good guys'. Well, you're not! You're just as bad as the Cursed God, if not worse."

I shook my head as tears, real tears not of blood, gathered in my eyes.

"The orb was wrong. None of you ever cared about me as a person. YOU ALL JUST SEE ME AS A TOOL!"

As they stared in stunned silence, I took this opportunity to clamor up the ladder, my rage turning to feelings of betrayal and hurt. I rushed past the rest of them and kept on running until I found an air duct to sit in and weep.

 

 


	11. Regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (CW: Suicide attempt mention, mental breakdown mention)

**Rosanna's POV:**

After Mystic left, I felt like absolute garbage. Tears began to convene in my eyes.

"Oh my God," I choked as I went over to sit on the bed.  
"We really screwed up."

I covered my face. 

"I do care about her, and I didn't even try to stop this," I wept.  
"I'm worse than the Cursed God."

"No, you're not!" Safiya, ever the stoic one, assured me as she held me close, rubbing my back.  
"But you're right about one thing; we really did screw up."

"Nikita, are you.....crying?" Andrea R wondered aloud, her voice trembling.

"Me? Crying? No, I just.....got something in my eyes," she sniffled.

I got up from Saf and over to Nikita. 

"Do you need a hug?" I asked her gently. 

Pursing her lips, she nodded and collapsed into my embrace, weeping loudly.

"Why does she keep acting like this?" Alice wondered as tears fell down her face.

"Because she's scared," Gabbie piped up, also with a quiver in her voice.

We all turned to her.

"Scared?" Penelope questioned. 

I could see a few tears in her eyes as Gabbie nodded.

"Of what?"

"I'm not going to say," Gabbie responded bluntly.  
"She's already hurt enough by us. This might make things worse."

"Well, we can't solve the problem if we don't know what the problem is," Alison breathed.  
"So it might be worth telling us."

* * *

**Gabbie's POV:**

Why the fuck had I said that? I'm pretty sure that was between us two. And now I was at a crosswalk. If I told them, we might be able to solve this problem, but Mystic might be even angrier if she found out that I'd told them. But on the other hand, we wouldn't be able to solve this if I kept this under wraps. 

_Fuck it. We need to fix this._

"It was, maybe, a few weeks after she first tried to kill herself," I shrugged.  
"She had a mental breakdown and she kept calling herself a monster. And I could tell that she was hurt, like really hurt. She's still hurt. She's been hurt. But I don't know what or who hurt her. I suppose that's another mystery. But if I had to guess, I'd say someone took advantage of her, fucked her over, or all of the above."

"Oh God," Andrea gulped.  
"No wonder she lashed out."

"Well, what should we do?" Rosanna wondered.

I sighed.

"I think the best thing to do would be to give her her space for a little bit."

"I don't know if we have that kind of time," Safiya shrugged.  
"We've got a crazed candyman running around."

"Plus, there's also the possibility that she might be trying to kill herself," Nikita sighed.  
"Maybe someone should go check on her."

"If only we knew where she was," I sniffed. 

All of a sudden, Penelope stood up. 

"You and Ro should go find her," she sighed.

"Wait, what?" I exclaimed.

"She seems to trust you two a lot. If I go, it'll only make things worse."

I looked over to the Jet Setter and she nodded.

"Okay," I shrugged.  
"We'll go find her."


	12. Monster

I felt as though I was gonna hurl as I sat in the air duct, silently crying my eyes out. I wanted to believe that they cared about me, but anxiety was always in the back of my mind, telling me that they were going to hurt and abandon me soon enough just like those two girls in high school, so might as well get a head start by cutting them off myself. And yet, the idealism would always want them back. 

 _"People wanna talk when I'm not around to hear,"_ I sang.  
 _"Really they don't know what I'm made of._  
 _"People keep on walkin' so far away from here._  
 _"Clearly I'm the one they're afraid of._  
 _"One after another, they've always come and gone._  
 _"So what if I'm the monster that's been here all along?_  
 _"They're droppin' like flies whenever I'm around._  
 _"So used to goodbyes, there's comfort in the sound._  
 _"Maybe I'm the monster that's been here all along!"_

My muscles tensed up. That song resonated with me too damn much. My lack of social skills, my trust issues, my insecurity, it was driving people away. My brain took in emotions more intensely, so it was more difficult to believe people when they said they actually cared. I wanted them to understand, but I was scared to fully open up.

All of a sudden, I heard the sound of someone crawling through the ducts.

"--are we going to even say to her?" 

I heard Rosanna, and she sounded pretty concerned.

"We're gonna apologize, and possibly ask her why she keeps doing this," Gabbie sighed.

Part of me was telling me to leave, but I didn't have the energy. I was weighed down by my mistakes and the pain people gave me. And even if I'd gotten the energy, I just didn't want to keep running right now. So when they came around the corner, I just let my body sink into the metal. 

"Hey," Rosanna greeted me gently. 

"What do you want?" I grumbled sadly.

"That was my song you were singing," Gabbie commented.

I nodded. I wanted so badly to open up, but my body was clenching at the mere thought. 

"You're pretty good at singing."

"You wanna know why I keep running off, right?" I sighed, pushing through the urge to close up. 

They both nodded.

"And we came to apologize," Ro added.

"No, you.....don't have to apologize," I breathed.  
"I'm the one who should be apologizing. I stepped out of line."

"You're hurt," Gabbie shrugged.  
"It's natural."

I took a deep breath.

"It was these two girls I became friends with in high school. I opened up to them, albeit pretty early in the friendship. We started talking more. We'd text each other almost every day. And I guess I was too open because I started talking about my mental health a lot with them. I didn't feel like I had a support system. I felt alone, so I started to lean on them. And that only made things worse.   
"One of the girls started getting really possessive over the other one and the other one didn't really seem to mind it because they were pretty close. The first girl accused me of saying things I never said, doing things for reasons I don't remember doing them for. Even if I brought up problems that could be solved with them modifying their own behavior, like I felt like I wasn't being heard when we talked, they didn't do shit. And they claimed I wasn't trying to get better. It took me too damn long to cut them out.   
"I've been bullied and abused by other kids before, but that was the kicker. I started to be more shy. My self-esteem plummeted. And I've figured that, if people cared enough, they'd come after me instead of me going to them, because that was the majority of what happened. I'd go to them to invite them to hang out or start a conversation. I figured that either I'd distance myself and they'd come to find me, or I could cut them out before they'd have the chance to hurt and abandon me. That's why I keep running off. I'm scared I'm gonna get hurt and abandoned again. I'm scared to trust in others, because I feel like who I am is just gonna drive them away eventually, cuz autism makes it so fucking difficult for me to understand social skills as well as most people, so if I have no one to trust in, I can't get hurt."

There was silence as I took another breath. I felt a knot untie in my stomach, a weight off my shoulders, however you phrase it. I felt a little better.

"I get it," Gabbie began.  
"I understand where you're coming from, and I've been through a time like that, but that's not a healthy mindset to have."

"I know!" I exclaimed irritated at myself.  
"I know it's not, but I can't help but feel like I'm just gonna drive everyone away. And I know you can't tell me if I will or not, but.....UGH, I'm so frustrated!"

"Well, I really doubt you can drive me away," Ro assured me.  
"I know you're sweet and have good intentions. You're just hurt."

"Same here," Gabbie agreed.  
"So even if the rest of the group DOES end up abandoning you, for some weird reason, then you have us two."

"You promise?"

"100%."

"Absolutely," Ro piped up.

I took a moment.

"Thank you. Shit, now I feel even worse for calling you two worse than the Cursed God. I didn't mean it, at least I'm pretty sure I didn't."

"Heat of the moment thing?" Gabbie wondered.

I nodded.

"You wanna go back to the others and we can figure as much of this out as we can?" 

"Sure," I shrugged.

* * *

As we jumped out of the air ducts, I gasped for breath.

"Okay, maybe an air duct wasn't the best place for me to hide."

Then I got a bright idea.

"Before we go back, since I wanna work on trusting people, I'm gonna trust you two with a few things that I found out. But you can't tell anyone else, at least not yet. You promise?"

They nodded and I took a deep breath.

"When I got inside the mind of the Cursed God," I warned them in a low voice.   
"I found out that they're waiting to make a big attack. You guys heard of the Blood Moon?"

"It sounds familiar," Ro answered.

Gabbie nodded in agreement.

"It's when magic is at its most powerful, meaning spells can be made permanent. That's when they plan to launch a huge attack, and take me captive. You see where this is going?"

"Kind of," Ro wavered.

"Just give it some thought."

After a few moments, I saw it click in them.

"Oh shit," Gabbie gasped. 

"Oh shit is right," I agreed.  
"And the blood moon is two to three weeks from now. But that doesn't mean we're in the clear until then. They might launch some small attacks, capture and convert a few of the group, but it's the blood moon attack we need to be on the alert for. I'd need to go somewhere to master my own magic before then."

"And what else did you find out?"

I took another deep breath.

"The eighth token might not be something, but someone."

 


	13. In Which Dooper Goes Naruto-Sonic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's bloodshed time.  
> (CW: Blood)

After that was all said and done, the three of us headed back to the group. 

"Mystic!" Tristen exclaimed. 

I wasn't too iffy with Tristen so I smiled kindly. 

"I'm sorry I ran off like that," I sighed.   
"It was in the heat of the moment. We're cool?"

"Yeah."

"I mean," Nikita scoffed.  
"I GUESS I accept your apology."

I looked over and saw that Nikita had tear stains under her eyes; Speaking of.

"We need to get you cleaned up," Alison told me as she grabbed a cloth and a bottled water.

She wet the cloth and cleaned off from under my eyes and mouth. I was horrified to see it come back red.

"Was I actually......?" I trailed off.  
"Spitting up and crying blood?"

Alison nodded as another person ascended; Penelope. I stepped back a little. She too had tear tracks running down her face. 

"Mystic," she sighed sincerely.  
"I'm so sorry. You were right. I was treating you like an experiment, instead of a person, and that was completely disrespectful. May you please forgive me?"

I was a little hesitant. She seemed sincere, but I wanted to be sure.

In a second, I switched over to her mind.

 _What is she thinking?_ Penelope asked anxiously.  
 _Have I lost her trust for good? Please tell me she can forgive me._

She definitely seemed sincere. And I'd never seen Penelope cry before or even give any indication that she'd cried, aside from the whole "ex-boyfriend-dying-in-her-arms" thing. But I didn't want to drop my boundaries completely.

 

I switched back to myself and decided on a compromise. 

"I'll forgive you gradually," I sighed.  
"But I'm afraid it's going to take a while before I can fully trust you again."

She pursed her lips and nodded.

"That's fair," she agreed. 

I gave a small smile. It was definitely a step in the right direction for us both. 

"So, what about the next token?" I asked trying to get back into the swing of things.

"Wait," Alice gasped as she and Calliope dragged an unconscious Candy Pop up the ladder.  
"So you're forgiving us?"

"Gradually," I sighed.  
"But let's move on from that. Where's the next token?"

Everyone looked at one another in confusion and I huffed.

"Don't tell me. You don't even know if Lennan has one of them."

"The tokens are difficult to keep track of," Penelope argued.  
"They've been lost for centuries."

"Well, we might as well confront the fucker and tell him to give it to us then," Dooper exclaimed.  
"And then if he doesn't, we punch the shit out of him!"

He brandished his fists, ready to fight, and honestly I couldn't help but feel his energy. After all, I knew he wanted to be more than comic relief. Maybe this could be his chance to be the hero.

"No, we need a plan," Penelope rationalized.

"Punch everyone!"

"A plan that goes beyond simply punching everyone."

"Oh, come on!" he spat.  
"Since when have any of your plans ever worked out?"

"How about this?" I intervened.  
"We ask him if he has a token, and then if he does and refuses to give it to us, AFTER trying to reason with him, THEN we punch the shit out of him."

The two of them glanced at each other and shrugged.

"I'm okay with that," Dooper smiled.

"Very well," Penelope sighed.  
"I suppose that's a fitting compromise."

"Uh, we might have to punch the shit out of him anyway," Manny reminded us.  
"As far as we know, he thinks we're still held captive in that room."

All of a sudden, we heard an alarm go off and sirens flash.

"On second thought, I retract that statement."

"So what do we do?" Nora panicked.

I looked over to Dooper; the two of us smirked at one another before we both turned back to the group.

"We go Sonic on this bitch!" we exclaimed at the same time. 

* * *

Dooper, as it turned out, was a pretty fast runner, especially because he was positioning himself in the Naruto run. He seemed like the protagonist of some sort of action-adventure anime and I was definitely here for it. 

"Guys, you gotta do it like this," he panted as he gestured to the Naruto run.  
"It really does make you run faster. Trust me!"

I followed his lead and sure enough, I managed to pick up speed. Envy, on the other hand, was having trouble keeping up with the rest of us, even whilst Naruto-running. Actually it was because of the Naruto run. He kept tripping every few feet or so. 

Soon enough we spotted a few Oompa Loompa rejects and this time, I was ready. I positioned myself in a battle stance. 

"Two to three years of karate training, don't fail me now!" I whispered under my breath.

The first one charged at me, before I came at them with a front-hand and back-hand combo punch, before I gave them a front kick in the gut, sending them flying back. Another came at with a punch, but I managed to push their fist to the outside before kneeing them in the gut. 

Dooper, meanwhile, was struggling. I had to do something. Sneaking round the fight, I pulled out a teastone and whispered

"I wish Dooper had a katana and katana-wielding skills."

The stone turned to dust and the katana appeared in his hands. After that, his stance seemed much more relaxed and he gave out a few anime-style calls as he slashed at those bitches. Ro, meanwhile, was reluctantly pushing them off to the side. She may be short, but damn, she's strong. Gabbie and Nikita, on the other hand, were going at it. Nikita's steel-toed boots were coming in handy, as was all of the training Gabbie had been doing at the gym. As I was watching, another grabbed my wrist and, without thinking, I bit down on the bastard. He let go and I noticed that I'd bitten through the skin as blood emerged from the bite. Terrified, the dude ran off. 

Alison was definitely also able to handle her own. She was slashing at each one left and right, using her magic on occasion. Manny was using the strength that won him that Strongman challenge, grabbing their fists and pinning them against the wall. The other writers, on the other hand, seemed like they were struggling. Calliope, Jael, Ryu, Roanoke, and Katsumi bounded in front of them, fighting off any that came their way. Occasionally, however, a writer would find something to use. Tristen, at one point, found a super sharp pencil in her bag and, with some help from Calliope in terms of holding him down, pierced him in the eye. He stumbled back and cried out in pain. 

Stella was also struggling, but she kept puppy-guarding Roi and Teala, pushing and punching at any worker that came their way. Erica, was doing the same for Eva and Oli. While their methods weren't AS effective, they did manage to scare away and injure some of them and one of them even lost consciousness because they came too close to Eva and Oli. Stella had also managed to knock one against the floor. Let that be a lesson. NEVER get between a fan and their OTP. 

On top of that, Envy and Alice had finally caught up with us. The former was using his vines to fling those sons-of-bitches to the Great Beyond, while Alice was harnessing......magic? That was something I'd have to ask her about later. But it was Penelope who, even though I knew she was an agent for the Society, shocked me the most. She was actually fighting instead of using hypnosis. She was pulling out ninja-esque reflexes, able to dodge nearly every attack thrown at her, and still was elegant as FUCK. I think even saw her knock one out by pinching an area by their ear. 

Blood was beginning to stain the walls and floors of the hallway. I'd gotten back into the fray, trying to use my magic, but I could really only send small fireballs. It was enough to keep them pre-occupied, but not enough to bring them down. I'd really have to work on my magic. After a while, I decided to hell with it. I pulled out those talons I'd used against Penelope earlier, and Wolverine-d those sons-of-bitches. I was becoming the most feral and violent I'd ever been in my life and I was disturbed at just how amazing it felt. 

But thank God, we'd finally taken them down. However, we weren't done yet. And as Dooper Naruto-ran to another room and busted in through the door, locking eyes with Lennan, I knew that this was only the beginning.

 


	14. Lilium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Death approaching.  
> (CW: Blood)
> 
> When the Latin song begins, if you want, you could play this along with it. Or play it throughout the entire death scene:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JUoSGQYyGw
> 
> WARNING: There's nudity in the video, so you could just switch to another tab right after it starts playing.

Those eyes. 

Those chocolate-brown eyes bore into our souls. 

Thankfully we had more than enough fury to combat it, and yet, he seemed to be trying to hide his fury.

"Congratulations!" he cheered.

That set us off-guard long enough for him to pull out a remote. One by one, cages emerged from the ceiling and sealed us inside of them. 

"You're a sick man!" I spat.  
"Undressing women without their consent, especially whilst they're unconscious."

"Now, now, Roanna, you shouldn't be talking to your father like that, especially considering you're the second sweetest of the sisters," he condescended as he brought my cage forward.  
"Besides I DIDN'T undress you. My workers did."

"That doesn't make it any better!" Alice called out.  
"And why did you call her that? Her name is Mystic!"

He brought her cage forward.

"Oh silly Eulalie, always so confused."

"Please stop this!" Rosanna begged.

"But my dear Dulcinea," he cooed as he brought her cage forward.  
"It's for the good of humanity. And after you've received your medicine, I know you'll see things my way."

All of a sudden, a mechanical hand with a spoon reached down. On the spoon was glittering pink liquid. It pushed it against my mouth and I could smell the sweet sticky syrup, but refused it nonetheless. Out of nowhere, I felt a prick in my upper arm and turned just in time to see a hypodermic injecting that same syrup into my body. 

No, no, no. Was this gonna be Christmasville all over again?!? I felt my body floating downwards like a feather and the world was turning dark. 

* * *

By this time, Penelope had snapped Candy Pop out of his trance. He turned to see Ro, Alice, and Mystic being forced to take a glittery pink syrup. Mystic, who'd been resistant, had it injected and was now asleep.

 _This is gonna be Christmasville 2.0, isn't it?_ he practically gagged.

But even so, he could still feel a significant amount of that maternal instinct. 

Envy, meanwhile, was watching on in horror as Alice gracefully dozed off. There was a tense silence.

"Shouldn't take too long," Lennan smiled lovingly.  
"When they wake up, they'll have not a mean bone in their bodies. Nothing but pure love and joy."

All of a sudden, he caught sight of Stella trembling in her cage. 

"Oh," he cooed.  
"What do we have here? A little birdie in her cage?"

"Don't call me that," she shivered. 

He didn't reply, instead pressing another button. Stella felt something inject into her shoulder and before anyone knew what was happening, she was fast asleep. 

"Her too?" Nikita exclaimed.  
"What do you want with them?"

He whirled on Nikita.

"I want a family. I want to be the father that mine never was for Sampson. Caring, loving, understanding, forgiving. And I want them to have a mother that can be the same."

He worked his way over to Alison's cage. 

"Alison. My dear, sweet Alison," he begged, getting down on one knee.  
"I implore you to say yes to my proposal. I even have a ring."

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a rainbow-candy striped ring box. Flipping it open, it revealed an off-brand ring pop. Alison wasn't usually a sappy or emotional person, but she couldn't help but feel bad for him. He was doing this for good reasons, but not in a good way. 

"Lennan," she sighed.  
"I......I really don't think I can. Not if you're going to take away their free will."

"But......if I don't, then they could become abusive."

"Then start your own family. Adopt some children and be the father you wanted for your half-brother."

"But it wouldn't be fair if it was just my family," he choked.  
"Children around the world suffer from abuse and neglect at the hands of those who bore them and are supposed to care for them. I simply cannot take care of every single one myself, so a little mind control isn't such a bad thing, really. If you say yes, I'll make you the happiest woman in the world. You'll have four darling, loving daughters and a husband who would turn this world inside out and bend it over backwards just to make sure you know you're loved."

"But what about the rest of them?" she wondered.  
"The rest of those you've captured in here. What of them?"

He gave this some thought.

"Well, I don't really know. Perhaps the plant man could make a nice companion for their playtime. The hypnotist could be the nanny. The beautiful raven-haired woman looks intelligent. She and the brown-haired man could assist me in candy ideas."

"But what about the Blood Moon?" Gabbie blurted out. 

Hearing this, Lennan turned to her. 

"What of it, my dear? This factory is protected by a barrier."

"But the Blood Moon amplifies magic, meaning someone could easily remove the barrier."

"Nonsense. All spells are connected to my lifeline. If they wish to undo the barrier, they'd have to kill me."

"Wait," Ines gulped.  
"Is what Stella and the others just took.....a spell?"

He nodded.

"As long as I live, that pure joy and love reigns supreme in them. They'll never even want to leave."

"Enough of this. What about the token?" Dooper spat. 

Lennan whirled on him next.

"What token?"

"Don't play dumb. We know you have the next token of Everlock!" 

"Token of Everlock? Don't be ridiculous; those have been lost for a long time!"

"Pa....pa?" a cute voice yawned, sounding not far-off from Luna Lovegood.

Everyone turned to see that Mystic was the first to have awoken. And somehow she looked even more innocent than when the Cursed God had put a spell on her. Her eyes were like a little anime girl's eyes, amplified by her glasses. Everyone was taken aback, as well as trying not to squeal. Even Nikita was having a difficult time keeping a straight face. Lennan whirled around and gasped lovingly.

"Roanna," he smiled.

He pressed a button opening Roanna's cage and the second she fell to the soft grass of the chocolate room she rushed over to him and embraced him. 

"I have a secret for you," she whispered.  
"I love you, papa."

"And I love you too," he replied.

Tears of happiness streamed down his face as Alice and Ro were the next to awaken. He opened their cages and they too skipped over and joined in the snuggle pile. Finally Stella woke up.

"Is it too late?" she asked sadly, tilting her head innocently. 

Lennan opened her cage. 

"Of course not, Aveline," he assured her.

Hearing this she flung herself onto the snuggle pile. Alison couldn't help but feel warm inside, especially with Stella's new name.  

"They kinda look like they're smothering him," Ines pointed out.

"If love must kill me, then I'll gladly die," he wept happily as he hugged them.  
"This.....this is what I want. I want all the children of the world to be as happy and loved as these four darling angels."

All of a sudden, Alison felt her cage open up and she fell to the ground. 

* * *

**Alison's POV:**

He looked so......happy. So fulfilled. For a brief moment, I forgot that he was going about this the wrong way. His intentions were pure and sweet. No one wants children to be abused and neglected. But I knew Lennan, and he was right. The only way to remove any of his spells was if he was killed. 

I walked over slowly and knelt down beside him. 

"Alison," he whispered joyfully.  
"Don't you see? We could be so happy together. This would be such a loving family."

"You're right," I smiled.  
"And I accept your proposal."

The others behind me gasped.

"Alison, what are you thinking?" Dooper exclaimed. 

"I'm thinking, maybe he's right. The world needs more love."

I closed in on him, the four girls moving away.

"And what better way to show your love for someone than a kiss."

"I couldn't agree more," he chuckled happily.

We leaned in close. I could see him readying himself and I moved in slowly.....slowly......slowly.....

"I'm so sorry about this," I choked quietly as the tears continued to collect in my eyes.

"AHH!!!!!"

He cried out in pain as I bit down hard on his neck. I winced at his agonizing pain. I'd betrayed him, and I knew I'd pay for it one day. Agony is a cruel thief, but his robbery can be of necessity. Yet though this is so, it changes not your pain when he comes by to take your hope away.

I pulled back as he gasped. Blood began to run from the wound I'd made in his neck and onto the grass. His eyes glazed over towards me.

"Why.....?" he croaked out.

"I'm sorry," I choked out.  
"I couldn't let them stay like that."

I was expecting him to be infuriated, yet this was not so. Instead he gave me a small smile.

"You......always were skilled.......at putting others......before yourself."

"Please," I gasped.  
"Do not speak much. Agony only draws closer to steal our hope away with each word."

"Not I. I shall...........I shall be with Sampson not long now."

My heart became overgrown with grief and agony. 

 _"'Nerine Galatea, thymo mihi dulcior Hyblae,"_ he breathed out, staring into my eyes.  
_"'candidior cycnis, hedera formosior alba,_  
_"'cum primum pasti repetent praesepia tauri,_  
_"'si qua tui Corydonis habet te cura, uenito."_

I chuckled despondently. 

"I remember.......those Latin phrases we'd whisper to each other."

"Do you.....do you remember any?"

I nodded softly.

_"'Militat omnis amans, et habet sua castra Cupido:_  
_"'Attice, crede mihi, militat omnis amans.'"_

"That, indeed, he did."

Then.....quietly, Roanna began to sing in an angelic voice.

_"Os iusti_  
_meditabitur_  
_sapientiam,_  
_Et lingua eius_  
_loquetur indicium."_

"I remember," he wept happily.  
"That was the song that we sang together......before I fled."

He wheezed as he began to turn paler.

"My time for this world is not long."

He held out for my hand. Trembling, I took ahold of it and he sighed.

"Please........may we........just once more. Let it be my elegy."

I nodded as tears fell from my face. 

 _"'Os iusti,"_ I let the words flow softly from my mouth  
_'meditabitur_  
_'sapientiam,_  
_'Et lingua eius_  
_'loquetur indicium.'"_

"That voice," he smiled happily.  
"I know I shall die in love."

Trembling I propped him up gently.

 _"'Beatus vir qui,"_  he sang.  
_"'suffert tentationem,_  
_"'Quoniam cum_  
_"'probates fuerit accipiet coronam vitae.'"_  
  
_"'Kyrie,"_ we chorused through our raining eyes.  
_"'ignis divine, eleison,_  
_'O quam sancta,_  
_'quam serena_  
_'quam benigma,_  
_'quam amoena_  
_'O castitatis lilium.'"_

His words began to trail off, until his eyes slowly glazed over, his skin losing all pigment. As if to believe that, perhaps by some miracle, I had not done the deed, I frantically scaled over his body for a sign of life, but my search bore nothing.

He was gone.


	15. Fault

I shook my head, opening my eyes to find Alison leaning over Lennan.....crying?

"What happened?" Alice gasped. 

Ro seemed to understand immediately and tears fell from her eyes. 

I stood up and saw tooth marks on his neck before my eyes looked to Alison. 

_No.........she couldn't have._

"Alison," I choked.  
"What......? Is he......?"

In response, she slowly bowed her head and my hand went to my mouth.

"Oh God."

I pursed my lips.

"He wished to die from love," Calliope sighed.  
"So she granted that request."

As selfish as this might sound, I couldn't help but feel that.......this was my fault. If I had just avoided letting the Cursed God in, or if I'd just let him take me and marry me, no one would have to watch the people they love die. Maybe I had it backwards. Maybe I was the person that was going to hurt and abandon people eventually. I couldn't handle the sight, so without thinking, I dashed out. 

"Mystic, wait!" Alice called out panicked. 

But I didn't stop. I climbed back into the air ducts and found myself back in the eight-way intersection. So what if they were looking for me? I didn't care this time. Bowing my head, I hugged my knees to my chest and let the tears slowly flow down. 

"First Horace who Penelope loved, then Kyrie, then Cyrille, next Arya and Celeste, then Ciel, then Lele, Jesse, Timothy, Shane, Matt, now Lennan who Alison loved. Is there no one that this journey shows mercy to? Are they all condemned to watch their loved ones die because of what I am? Because of what they're sacrificing to make sure I'm safe?"

With shaky breaths and sniffling, I looked at my hands. Pale and clean as they were, I couldn't help but feel as though they were stained with blood. That they SHOULD be stained with blood. Was I not the reason that this was happening? In fury, I gave a shout and banged my fists against the cold, metallic floor.

"Isn't there anything I can do to end this?!?" I yelled in anguish.  
"Isn't there something I can do so that no one else has to die?"

I was beyond the point of caring if I was heard. My tears were falling and I felt like a monster. I buried my face into knees and wept, when I heard some sounds in the ducts. Out of nowhere, I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. Looking up with my tear-blocked eye, I saw Ro, Safiya, Gabbie, Matt, Nikita, and Alice with the first of them rubbing my shoulder.

"Why do you care about me?" I gasped breathily.  
"Why do you stick around when we've seen what that leads to? I was wrong. You shouldn't be trusting ME."

"Why would you say that?" Ro wondered sadly. 

"Don't you see?" I squeaked guiltily.   
"More people have been killed than there are tokens of Everlock. And we only have three. Who knows how many more people are going to be lost? Who knows how many more loved ones we'll lose? And all because of what I did? All because of what I am? A monster."

"You're not a monster," Ro assured me, her throat closing up as she embraced me.  
"I promise you, you're not a monster."

"But then why are so many people dying? Why do you care about the person who is the catalyst for all of this hell?"

"Because your life's just as valuable," Safiya added, her throat choking up as she rubbed my shoulder.   
"We all know what we're risking to do this."

I had no more words at this point; all I could do was weep. 

"I don't know what we can do to assure you that this isn't your fault," Nikita sighed with a small tremor in her voice.  
"But Saf's right. We all knew what we were signing up for. We've come this far, and it's a cowardly and cruel move for us to just abandon you."

I retract that statement; I had found a few words.

"But the other writers," I squeaked glancing up at Alice.  
"You all were just dragged into this. Why haven't you abandoned me by now?"

"Because a fandom is an ohana," Alice told me, trying not to cry.  
"Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind, or forgotten."

"We're all an ohana," Matt added solemnly.  
"No one's getting left behind. Dead or alive, none shall be forgotten or left behind." 

"We're going to get through this. All of us," Gabbie assured me.  
"We promise."

I felt so.....overwhelmed. There've been few times where I was overwhelmed by love and support, but this was one of the moments that brought me to tears. I collapsed into Ro's arms and simply wept while the others comforted me. 

 

 


	16. Red Eyes

Meanwhile, someone was keeping tabs on Mystic. As he could see through her eyes, hear through her ears, and hear her thoughts without knowing, just as she did, he could also feel her pain. 

_**What have I been putting you through, my delicate dove?** _

A small tear emerged from the eye of the Cursed God. He felt such anguish and he felt confused by this anguish. He wanted to be there to make her feel safe and loved. He couldn't wait for the blood moon. 

On impulse, he grabbed a dark teastone and called for his army. 

"I have to see her," he gasped as Lilith and the others walked in.  
"She's my everything, and she's suffering at my hands."

"You must pull yourself together, my Lord," Lilith assured him.  
"You are becoming sick with love."

"I have to make things right!" he spat back.  
"If I don't, I fear I shall spiral into insanity."

"Well, capturing her won't help."

"Which is why I have this," he smirked showing her the teastone.  
"I wish my love and her most innocent of the group, and Morticia were teleported here."

* * *

 As Mystic wept, she suddenly felt herself begin to sparkle. As did Ro, Safiya, and Alice.

"What's going on?" she panicked.

"I think someone may have made a wish," Nikita growled.  
"I'll tell Penelope."

But before Nikita could even make a single movement, a flash of white engulfed the four of them, and they disappeared.

* * *

I groaned softly as my eyes adjusted to where I was. I felt the softness of a mattress and blankets covering me as I heard birds singing.

"Wha.....where am I?" I asked, still tired. 

"You're somewhere safe," a familiar voice assured me as I felt someone petting my head.  
"You won't have to watch anyone die when you're here, my sweet doe."

I gasped as I recognized the voice. 

"Get away from me!" I exclaimed frightened as I pushed him away.  
"You're the one who caused all of this in the first place."

"You let me in."

"You manipulated me into it!"

I covered myself with the sheets, pinning the edge underneath, as I shivered and cried. All of a sudden, I felt him stroking me above the sheets.  

"Come now, my little flower. I've simply brought you here to make up for all the suffering I've caused you."

_Yeah, right._

Slowly he pulled the sheets off of me and gently turned me over. I felt so small just looking at him. Sitting up, I tried to turn away but he turned me back to face him. All of a sudden, the door opened. 

"My lord," I froze as I heard Lilith's voice.  
"Do you still need me to help?"

He nodded.

"Perhaps two of the delicate sex can help one another."

I wanted to scratch his face out at him calling me delicate, but he got off the bed and left the room. I turned away from Lilith and shut my eyes. I felt her hand touch my head and gently pet me, sending shivers through my nerves.

"Oh, you poor, sweet child," she sighed soothingly.  
"Having to watch your friends suffer like that. I can only imagine how much pain it's causing you."

"It's fine," I lied.  
"It is what it is."

"But it doesn't have to be," she told me.  
"I have a solution."

I turned back and glared in disbelief.

"Do you?" I asked sarcastically.

"Indeed," she replied softly, cupping my chin.

Suddenly our eyes met.

"You could simply not continue."

Her voice began to soften as she spoke. Her red eyes glowing slightly.

"Not continue?" I asked confused.

"Exactly," she answered.  
"Just abandon the search. Think of all the pain you can avoid. If you and your friends just stopped trying to find these tokens."

"Stop trying....." I droned as the world around me faded. 

I could only see those red eyes.....those beautiful ruby, red eyes.

"Yes, give up the search and live a wonderful life here."

I had a bad feeling about what was going on, but I felt so relaxed that I didn't want to move. 

"Don't you want to feel loved? Don't you want to have people who will always be faithful to you?"

"Always.....faithful....."

"You'll never have to fear betrayal."

"Never.....fear.....betrayal...."

"Nothing but love and innocence."

"Love.......innocence......"

"Doesn't that sound just wonderful? Doesn't it sound better than trying to find tokens?"

"Yes," I sighed.

"Are you ready to start a new life as queen of Eternity?"

Yes. Absolutely. I was ready. I wanted this. I knew I wanted this! No more fear of betrayal. No more pain or suffering. Only love and innocence! I was about to respond when......

*** _Boom!*_**

The red eyes were knocked to the right and I began to blink. My vision was a little blurry, and I grasped at my head.

"What the hell...?" I groaned out.

"Mystic!" Alice's voice called out in the distance. 

"I cannot believe you, Penelope!" Lilith spat.  
"Always wanting to ruin everything! Dear Mystic could've spent a comfortable life and here you are trying to take it from her."

"I won't be fooled by your words, you demonic bodewash!" Penelope quipped in reply.   
"Your days of manipulation will be over."

All of a sudden, I felt myself being dragged out of the room. A few more pairs of footsteps falling behind shortly after.

"I've placed her in a stasis using a quick induction," Penelope panted.  
"But it won't last long. Here."

She handed me the bag of teastones.

"Make a wish quickly!"

My vision still a bit hazy as Saf picked up my feet, I tried to think of a wish, but then went for the most basic.

"I wish we were somewhere else with the others!"

Golden light shone around us and I prayed that wherever the hell we were going to end up, it would give us time to breathe.


End file.
